Van Aert and Jorgenson lead Visma at Dauphiné as Belgian eyes another target before Tour

Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson are also part of Visma’s expected Tour de France line-up, which is set to take on Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates-XRG again in July with Jonas Vingegaard.

For Van Aert, it will be his first race since his victory at Paris-Roubaix, where he finally claimed the cobbled Monument he had long coveted. In the meantime, he did make an appearance at the Marly Grav gravel race, which he immediately went on to win.

Jorgenson returns to the peloton after crashing at the Amstel Gold Race, where a fractured collarbone brought his spring campaign to an early end. His spring had already taken a different path from previous years, as he skipped the Flemish Classics to focus on the Ardennes. It looked like a sensible decision until Amstel delivered a sudden setback. In the lead group, Kévin Vauquelin crashed in a corner, leaving Jorgenson with nowhere to go.

The American is eager to pin on a race number again after a period focused on recovery. “I am really looking forward to racing again. I think this year I haven’t raced that much, which was by choice. Once I broke my collarbone, more races were removed. I’m really looking forward to getting back and to getting a number back on again”, Jorgenson said in a statement released by the team.

Jorgenson completed his final preparations at altitude in Sierra Nevada, where he trained with teammates during the past three weeks. “I have trained really well with my teammates in Sierra Nevada. I have felt really supported by the team throughout the whole recovery process. I feel healthy and 100% so I am ready to race,” said Jorgenson, who has high ambitions for the race.

“I always want to try to win. It’s been my goal all season to win a race. In the end, I only missed two weeks of training. The injury set me back, but I was able to train really well and feel completely ready now.”

Alongside Van Aert and Jorgenson, Visma’s line-up consists of Ben Tulett, Jørgen Nordhagen, Per Strand Hagenes, Bruno Armirail and Edoardo Affini.

Sports director Maarten Wynants expects a demanding race, especially given the level of opposition. “It will become a tough Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, especially with this strong list of participants. We are also present with a strong line-up and as always we will do everything to get the best possible result out of it.”

For Visma, the race marks an important return for both leaders. “For both our leaders it’s their first race back. For Matteo, it’s his first race after his injury. He has trained really good to be back in form. For Wout, it’s his first race back after his win in Paris-Roubaix, which means he is really motivated,” Wynants said.

Van Aert may already have another target in mind between the Dauphiné and the Tour de France: the Belgian national championships. On Thursday, a Strava upload from the Belgian suggested he had reconned the course.

The Paris-Roubaix winner last became Belgian champion in 2021, before going on to win three stages at that year’s Tour de France, including the famous mountain stage over Mont Ventoux.